Psalm 116 (117)
Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
Praise Him, all you peoples,
For His mercy rules over us;
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Encouraging Words
Who should praise the Land? Everyone! Why? Because He has poured out His mercy upon us out of His never-ending love for us. He endures forever and desires that we live the remainder of eternity with Him. Glory be to God!
Psalms 112:3 (113:3)
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
Praise the name of the Lord.
Personal Challenge
Sometimes we get so caught up in the cares of this world that we forget that it is our Lord who will see us through the dark times as well as the bright times. If we take the time to praise Him continually, we will see His hand at work at all times. Glory be to God!
Psalms 114:1-2 (116:1–2)
I have loved, because the Lord Shall hear the voice of my supplication;
For He inclined His ear to me,
And in my days I shall call upon Him.
Encouraging Words
We can love others the way that God wants us to because He has loved us this way. His love for us goes beyond any form of earthly love that we can summon up. By calling up Him, knowing that He will hear our voices, we can learn to love others as He loves us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!
Psalms 111:4 (112:4)
For the upright, light springs up in darkness,
Encouraging Words
Are the rewards, or benefits, for trying to live an upright and godly life worth it? Absolutely. There are many, but the Psalmist points out one specific benefit here. When we choose to live our lives in ways that glorify our Lord, we will have His light spring up in those times of darkness in our lives. He will always pour His mercy and compassion on us. Glory be to God.
Psalms 110:4 (111:4)
He made a remembrance of His wonders;
The Lord is merciful and compassionate;
Encouraging Words
Our Lord has done many great things since the dawn of creation. It is good for us to remember this for in seeing His great works and His love for His children we see how merciful and compassionate He is toward us. Glory be to God!
Psalms 110:10 (111:10)
The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord;
A good understanding is in all who practice it.
His praise continues unto ages of ages.
Encouraging Words
True wisdom and understanding do not come from the books that we read and the scholars that we follow. These may provide us information, but unless we approach them with fear and respect of the Lord, our source of truth, we gain that information in vain. Jesus is our source of truth, He is Wisdom. Without Him, anything else that we attempt to learn is misdirected. Glory be to God!
Psalms 108:21-22 (109:21-22)
But You, O Lord, O Lord, deal mercifully with me for Your name’s sake,
For Your mercy is good.
Save me, for I am poor and needy,
And my heart is troubled within me.
Encouraging Words
Do we have a close enough relationship with our God to ask Him to deal with us in His own way? Do we trust Him that much? We can. It is our choice to give our all to Him. His mercy is good and He will be merciful to us. Glory be to God!
Psalms 103:33-34 (104:33-34)
I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I exist;
May my words be pleasing to Him,
And I shall be glad in the Lord.
Personal Challenge
Is it really possible to sing to the Lord in days like we are in today? Dealing with a pandemic, sequestered in our homes, some of us laid off from work, conspiracy theorists, and those loving anarchy ramping up. So many see these as hard and difficult times. But are they? We are not being pulled from our homes and sent to concentration camps because we proclaim Christ as our Lord. We are not being branded and sent to gas chambers because of our nationality. We are still free, just being asked to do what is deemed prudent to curtail an unprecedented virus. Yes, it is an inconvenience. Yes, in some cases it means an impact on our income. But is truth, we have so much that we can sing to our Lord about. Maybe we should focus our energies and our commentaries on praising our Lord for all that He has done for us and given to us rather than focusing on conspiracies and rantings that tickle our ears and make us feel superior to others. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!
Psalms 102:17-18 (103:17-18)
But the mercy of the Lord is from age to age upon those who fear Him,
And His righteousness upon children’s children,
To such as keep His covenant
And remember His commandments, to do them.
Encouraging Words
God is faithful, even if we are not. He gives His mercy and righteousness to us when we keep His covenants. And when we do not, He remains ready to forgive us of our sins because He loves us. Glory be to God!
Verse of the Day 